The Highland Theatre, which operated for 99 years along the Figueroa Street alignment of Route 66 in Los Angeles, unexpectedly closed its doors a few weeks ago.
The EastsiderLA initially reported the shuttering of the theater, the last remaining movie house on Figueroa.
On Thursday night, the theater was dark, the gate drawn closed, the lobby cleared out and the marquee virtually blank. The phone went unanswered.
A posting on Thee HLP 90042 said employees were laid off on Thursday, but that could not be confirmed. The building that houses the theater was sold last year. The triplex operator had occupied the space under a 99-year lease that had been transferred many times but expired last year. […]
“He mentioned that the new owners still claim they’re going to keep running it as a theater, but that remains to be seen,” said Stephen, who grew up in Highland Park. “I can honestly say that the Highland is one of the main reasons I fell in love with movies and thought that making them could be a viable career in the first place. It will be missed.”
According to Cinema Treasures, it was designed by noted theatre architect Louis Arthur Smith in 1924. The 1,450-seat Highland Theatre was opened on March 5, 1925.
In 2011, the Highland’s rooftop sign was relighted for the first time in many years. That restoration was paid for in part from a grant from the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program.
The North Figueroa Street corridor in Los Angeles was part of historic Route 66 from 1931 to 1934 and again from 1936 to 1960.
(Hat tip to Scott Piotrowski; image of the Highland Theatre in Los Angeles by guydeborg via Flickr)